How did Frida Kahlo die? Iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo needs no introduction! An inspiration in herself, Kahlo has been a feminist icon for decades as she still continues to inspire generations with her unique take on culture and art.
As Kahlo struggled through several health issues from a very young age, her paintings are often about her chronic pain and her painful experiences while suffering. Kahlo was disabled but polio as a child and faced a near-fatal bus accident that gave her lifelong pain. After her recovery, Kahlo became more and more interested in art and politics. While the artist went through a life of illness and pain, let us find out how Frida Kahlo died.
How did Frida Kahlo Die?
Frida Kahlo does this due to a pulmonary embolism that was set on by pneumonia. However, the iconic artist’s death became a topic of speculation after many pointed out that Kahlo might have died due to an overdose of painkillers. Frida Kahlo went through several health crises as her leg was amputated in 1953.
This happened due to gangrene that the researchers later speculated happened during an unnecessary surgery. Kahlo later wrote in her diary how they amputated her leg six months ago, and then they have given her centuries of torture, and at moments she almost lost her reason but kept on waiting to kill herself. Kahlo admittedly wrote how she wished her exit to be joyful, and she hopes never to come back.
The darkest months of pain came with the amputation of Kahlo’s leg, which eventually led her to be dependent on drugs and alcohol so that she could deal with her excruciating pain and discomfort and even made her doubt her own artistic worth.
Also read: Who is Frida Kahlo? Everything About This Artist
Who Was Frida Kahlo’s Husband?
Frida Kahlo’s husband was Diego Rivera. Rivera was Kahlo’s biggest fan as he once described his wife’s work to Picasso, saying how it is all about Acid and tender, and it hard as steel and delicate but is also fine as a butterfly’s wing, and as lovable as a beautiful smile, and is also profound and cruel just as the bitterness of life.
Kahlo’s mother initially did not approve of the pair as her ore ya used to refer to the union as a marriage between an elephant and a dove. Take a look at the three-part BBC documentary based on the iconic artist’s life.
We all know her face, but who was she really?
Becoming Frida Kahlo arrives on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer this Friday. pic.twitter.com/ESutDdKUlZ
— BBC Arts (@bbcarts) March 6, 2023
Rivera was the one who first spotted Kahlo’s artistic talents, and he was a source of Kahlo’s affection until her death in 1954. She was 47 years old. It has been claimed that Rivera never told her how to paint as he had too much respect, and he was also his wife’s first fan and always asked her to be herself. It was Rivera who realized that Kahlo had potential and encouraged her to go on.
Becoming Frida Kahlo: All About The BBC Series
BBC celebrates the iconic artist’s life in this newly released three-part documentary that has been made for BBC Two. The brand new series is a gift for all Frida fans as it gives fans a sneak peek into some never seen sources of photographs and archival films that shows the late artist in her pivotal private and public moments.
The series features some voiceovers that narrate parts from Kahlo’s letters and her personal diary entries, as viewers also get to know more about the medical reports that reveal all about Kahlo’s worsening health conditions and her eventual death.
The series also features the professor and author Luis Martín Lozano sharing some insight from Kahlo’s life as the BBC series moves toward the final credits while revealing the impressive list of archives that brings forward some valuable photographs and film of Kahlo (and her husband Rivera) that spans from her childhood in the 1920s to the time of her eventual death back in 1954.